This blog is dedicated to the teachers in Skokie School District, especially to SA and LN.
Book: My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero
Grade Level: 3
WIDA Key Language Use: Narrate
Focus: Descriptive noun groups and verb groups
Learning Goals
- Students will identify and discuss expanded noun groups and verb groups in a mentor text.
- Students will understand how these features help build themes in a narrative.
- Students will practice using noun groups and verb groups to add details to places in their narratives and to connect with their childhood memories.
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlyTeacher Read-Aloud Script: My Papi Has a Motorcycle
Focus: Noun Groups & Verb Groups (Language Features that Build Theme & Imagery)
Page 3
“My papi, the carpenter, is covered in sawdust and smells like a hard day at work. His hands are rough from building homes every day…”
Teacher Script:
“Let’s pause here. Did you notice how the author doesn’t just say my dad? She says my papi, the carpenter. That’s a noun group — it names the person and adds more detail about who he is. Say it with me: my papi, the carpenter.”
“Now listen to these verb groups: is covered in sawdust… smells like a hard day at work… are rough from building. These verbs don’t just tell us what papi does — they show his hard work. Turn to your partner: How do these noun groups and verb groups make you picture papi?”
Page 5
“Papi revs the engine, and the smell of gasoline hits me as he squeezes the accelerator. The motor rumbles and growls.”
Teacher Script:
“Now the language shifts to sound and action. The noun groups are the smell of gasoline and the motor. Do you see how the author names the exact things we sense?”
“And look at the verb groups: revs the engine… hits me… rumbles and growls. These verbs are movement and sound verbs that help us hear and feel the motorcycle. Let’s act them out together — what does rumble and growl sound like?”
Page 7
“The shiny blue metal of the motorcycle glows in the sun. The bright orange sun is on its way down, turning our sky blue and purple and gold.”
Teacher Script:
“Here, the author uses long noun groups packed with detail: the shiny blue metal of the motorcycle… the bright orange sun… our sky blue and purple and gold. Do you hear how the words pile up to paint a picture?”
“And the verbs are just as powerful: glows in the sun… is on its way down… turning our sky. These verb groups don’t just tell us what the sun does — they show us change and movement. Quick turn and talk: Which picture do you see most clearly in your head?”
Page 14
“We roar past murals that tell our history—of citrus groves and immigrants who worked them, and of the famous road race that took place on Grand Boulevard…”
Teacher Script:
“Notice how the author describes the murals — she calls them murals that tell our history. That’s a noun group with a whole clause inside it! The murals are not just paintings — they are storytellers.”
“Look at the verbs: roar past… tell our history… took place. These verbs connect action with memory. The community is alive in these words. Let’s read that line again together, and think: How does this language help us see community as part of the theme?”
Wrap-Up
“Throughout this story, the author uses detailed noun groups to name people, places, and things in the community, and verb groups to show what they do, sound like, or feel like. When we pay attention to these groups, we can better understand the theme — that family and community are powerful, alive, and full of history.”
Lesson Steps
- Read Aloud & Notice
- Read the selected passages with expression.
- Pause after each to ask: “What words or phrases help us picture what’s happening?”
- Highlight Noun Groups
- Display excerpts on chart paper or projector.
- Underline expanded noun groups (e.g., the shiny blue metal of the motorcycle).
- Discuss: What details do the adjectives, classifiers, or prepositional phrases add?
- Highlight Verb Groups
- Circle verb groups (e.g., rumbles and growls).
- Discuss: How do these verbs make the scene feel alive?
- Student Practice
- In pairs, students choose one noun group and one verb group.
- Draw or act it out. Then create a new sentence using the group (My dad’s rough, hardworking hands build strong houses.).
- Quick Write
- Students write 2–3 sentences about a family or community memory.
- Must include:
- One expanded noun group
- One verb group
Reflection Question (Student)
- How do descriptive noun groups and verb groups help readers see and feel the story more clearly?
Instructions for Students
- Listen carefully as your teacher reads from My Papi Has a Motorcycle.
- Look at the examples of noun groups and verb groups from the story.
- On the right side, write your own descriptive noun group and your own verb group.
- Noun Group = add details (adjectives, classifiers, prepositional phrases) → the tall red bicycle with a broken seat
- Verb Group = doing or feeling → raced down the street, buzzed loudly in the air
- Share your new sentences with a partner!
Below are a couple of slides of how I bring this training to teachers.
Writing About My Community Using Expanded Noun Groups
Why do this?
Authors don’t just write house or school. They expand the noun groups to connect places and people to memories, roles, and details that make the writing feel alive. You can do the same with your own community!
Pattern to Try
Examples From My Papi Has a Motorcycle
- We cruise by Abuelito and Abuelita’s old yellow house — the one with the lemon tree that grew from the seeds of the lemons Abuelito used to pick not far from here.
- We stop at La Panadería — the one where Abuelita bought conchas every Sunday and always saved the pink one for me.
Steps for Students
- Choose a place or person in your community.
- Example: my school, the park, my neighbor, the library.
- Add a memory or detail that makes it special.
- Example: the one where we practice soccer until sunset
- Example: the one who always waves when I ride by
- Put it together as a sentence.
- We ride past the school — the one where we practice soccer until sunset.
- We wave to Mr. Tran, our neighbor — the one who always waves when I ride by.
Your Turn
Write 3–4 sentences about your own community using the pattern. Each sentence should connect a person or place with a memory or detail.
Examples for students to construct their own sentences about places in the community that connect to memory:
green is for verbs and red is for noun groups.
If you do this activity with your students, please share their sentences with me! Let’s build out those noun groups to not only add details and descriptive language but to connect with our memories.
At your service,
Ruslana
Making Language Visible 
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